Railway-switch controller.



P. D. HIBNER. RAILWAY SWITCH CONTROLLER. APPLICATION mum snr'mo, 190a.nmuwnn JULY 18, 1911. 1,021,3 1 3.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

WITNESSES W A TTORNE Y.

COLUMBIA PUNOGRAPM c0" \usumn'mu. D; C

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP D. HIBNER, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

RAILWAY-SWITCH CONTROLLER.

Application filed September 30, 1908, Serial No. 455,441.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP D. HIBNER, a

a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, inthe county ofKing and State of Washington, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railway-Switch Controllers, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to railway switch appliances; and has for itsobject to improve upon the construction of switch operating devices suchas shown in Patent No. 881,799, granted to me the 10th day of March,1908, so as to adapt certain of the features therein shown for use withthe employment of compressed air as the power agent for predeterminatelyeffecting the actions of the aforesaid operating devices.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the details ofconstruction and combination of elements which are hereinafter describedand claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, Figure l is a plan View of a car-truck, partly brokenaway, and showing my improvements applied therewith. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section of portions of the same. Fig. 3 is a planview of the compressed air controlling-valve with the valve properillustrated in a different position from which it is represented inFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional View of Fig. 3 taken on the plane 44. Figs. 5 and 6 are detached perspective views of details shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

The same reference characters indicate corresponding parts in thevarious views.

Let 10 designate the frame of a car-truck which is arranged for pivotalconnection by a pin 11 with the car-body in order to have the car bodyturn independently thereof, as is common in railway practice. Rigidlyconnected with the truck-frame is suitable framework such as 12. Securedto this framework are two pairs of cylinders 13, 13 and 13 13 arrangedwith their axes transversely to the truck and located in a horizontalplane. The cylinders 13 and 13 are disposed in axial alinement as arealso the cylinders 13 and 13 and the pistons 14 and 14 of the alinedpairs of cylinders are respectively coupled by rods 15 and 15. The innerends of these cylinders are desirably open and from the closed endsconnections are had by crossed pipes 16 and 16 between the diagonallyopposite cylinders,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

Renewed July 18, 1911. Serial No. 639,202.

that is to say, the interiors of cylinders 13 and 13 are communicativelyconnected by the pipe 16 and cylinders 13 and 13 are similarly served bythe pipe 16. Fixedly mounted upon each of the piston rods so as to swingabout the respective axes thereof are pairs of crank-arms 17 which aredirected to extend below the plane of the rods while upon one of thesepiston rods are crank-arms 18 arranged to extend thereabove. J ournaledin the swinging ends of the arms 17 of each piston rod are thecylindrical extremities 19 of a block 19 each of which is centrallybored as at 19 (Fig. 6) to accommodate the upright studs 20 which areintegral with, or rigidly secured to, a blade 20. Said studs are screwthreaded for engagement with nuts 21 to provide bear-.

head at each of its ends, the rod 23 of the piston 24 therefor extendingthrough a suitable stufling-box in one of the heads and is connected toa crank pin 18 which is carried by the arms 18. The arms 18 are spacedso that the pin may be slidably moved through the piston rod end to anextent equal to the stroke of the piston rod 15. Air passages areprovided to convey the power medium to and from the ends of cylinder 22and, most conveniently, are extended through the respective trunnions22, 22 of the cylinder.

Situated within convenient reach of the operator upon the car is aduplex-valve whose oflice is to coincidently control the actions of thepistons of all of the aforesaid cylinders so as to effect the swingingof the blade 20 in either rotary direction with respect to a verticalaxis through motion imparted from the pistons 14 and 14 and to cause theblade to be depressed through proper motion being imparted from piston24. The preferred form of this valve, 25, illustrated in Figs. 1, 3 and4, is of the oscillating type and is inclosed by a casing 26. In theperipheral wall of the casing is an exhaust opening 27 and to each sidethereof are openings 28 and 29 from which communication is respectivelyhad with the pipes 16 and 16 by hose connections 28 and 29. In the samewall of the casing is another opening 30 giving communication with thepassage in the cylinder trunnion 22 by a hose connection 80; while inthe end casing wall are three spaced openings 31, 31 and 31" whichcommunicate by a hose connection 32 with the passage in the othertrunnion 22". The casing openings 27, 30 and 31 are desirably arrangedto be in a plane, extending diametrically through the casing.

Connected with the service pipe of an airbrake equipment, such as had onmodern cars, is the pipe 33 to supply compressed air to the upper andfront portions of the valve-chamber. The valve 25 is fitted to thediameter of the casing chamber and is provided wit-h a cavity 34arranged to make communication between either of the openings 28 or 29and the exhaust openings 27. Extending upwardly from this cavity is aduct 34 arranged to register with the opening 31 when the valve is inthe medial position in which it is represented in Fig. 3. Branch ducts34 extend from said duct or cavity and terminate upon thecircumferential face of the valve so that when the valve is rotatablymoved in either direction sufficient to afford communication between oneof the openings 28 or 29 to the valvecavity 34 one or the other of thesebranches will establish communication between the openings 30 and theexhaust opening 27. One of such positions is illustrated in Fig. 1. Theopenings 31 and 31 are spaced apart so that one or the other of them, 31in the referred to view, will be exposed to allow the flow of the powermedium from the valve casing to the cylinder 22 to actuate the pistonthereof for depressing said blade.

35 is a recess in the valve to uncover the opening 30 when the valve isin its medial position, as represented in Fig. 3, with a consequent flowof the power medium from the valve chamber to impart motion to thepiston for elevating the blade 20.

For the purpose of explaining the application of the invention it is tobe noted that there is within the track a lever, such as A, or anequivalent, which is connected by suitable lines as B to a switch tongueand when the lever is in the position in which it is represented byfull; lines the switch will be open, or closed as the case may be, whileby causing the lever to be swung to occupy the position indicated bydotted lines the switch will be reversely disposed. The leve-r A isprovided with a pin C which extends upwardly for engagement by the blade20 when the latter is depressed and inclined in one horizontaldirection. or the other to correspondingly shift the pin and the leverto which it is connected. Assuming that the blade 20 is to be depressedand at the same time swung into the position in which it is shown inFig. l for the purpose of shifting the lever A from the position asdesignated in full lines to that indicated by dotted lines, then bymanipulating the valve handle 25 the valve is adjusted to be in theposition in which it is shown in this View. Whence by an inspection ofFig. 1 and as indicated thereon by darts of the courses taken by thepower medium to and from the power cylinders, it will be evident thatthe piston 24 is caused to effect such movement to the piston rod 15 asto rock the same to cause the arms 17 upon this rod to depress the bladedownwardly and while being thus actuated all of the arms 17 cooperate tomaintain the blade horizontally. Meanwhile, and through the power mediumbeing applied in the cylinders 13 and 13 and the exhaust channels beingopened from the cylinders 13 and 13, the affected pistons are influencedto turn the blade in the direct-ion indicated by arrows 00 in Fig. 1.When the blade has been thus turned and sufficiently depressed it will,in the moving of the car in the direction of the arrow y, encounter thepin C and thrust the same laterally as required to operate the switch.To elevate the blade, the valve is adjusted to be as represented in'Fig.3, when the opening 31 is in register with the exhaust duct 34 of thevalve, and the opening 30' is in like relation with the valve recess 35to allow the powerinedium access to the end of the cylinder 22 where itwill, act to raise the blade to and maintain it in its elevatedposition.

What I claim, is

1. The combination with the movable member of a railway-switch, deviceslocated in the track for controlling the actions of said movable member,and a car-truck, of a blade carried by the truck and arranged to benormally inoperative with respect to said devices, and air-actuatedapparatus also carried by the truck for causing the blade to be madeoperative and likewise capable of adjusting the same so that said switchmember may be moved in a predetermined direction.

2. The combination with the movable member of a railway switch, devicesincluding a lever for actuating said member, and a car truck, of ablade, means actuated by compressed air for imparting vertical andhorizontal swinging motions to the blade, and a valve operativelyconnected with said means whereby the action of the compressed air isregulated for controlling said motions to the blade.

3. The combination with a car-truck, of two pairs of power cylindersmounted transversely with respect to the truck, a piston for each ofsaid cylinders, a piston rod for each pair of cylinders, crank-armsmounted upon each of said rods, a blade pivotally connected adjacent ofits ends to blocks, said blocks being pivotally connected with therespective crank-arms, another power cylinder arranged longitudinally tothe truck, a piston for this cylinder, a piston rod therefor, a pair ofcrank-arms fixedly connected toone of the first named rods, a crank pincarried by the last named crankarms and being connected with one end ofthe piston rod of the last named cylinder, a valve connected with asource of compressed air supply, and communicating connections betweenthe valve and each of said cylinders, said valve being adapted tocontrol the flow of compressed air through said connections whereby therespective functions of the various pistons are accomplished.

4. The combination with the movable member of a railway switch, and alever located in the track for controlling both the opening and closingof said movable member, of normally inoperative means carried by a carand engageable with said lever, and air actuated apparatus for causingsaid means to engage the lever to selectively open or close the switch.

PHILIP D. HIBNER.

Witnesses:

HORACE BARNES, A. H. SI-IOEMAKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

